I Have to Keep Laughing
by PskullV
Summary: Long has man bargained with forces it cannot truly understand. Circe knows this, and unfortunately for Wonder Woman, she does understand. However, the force chosen to be her weapon is strong, experienced and suffering in a way she cannot control. One can only hope that Wonder Woman can. OC. Rated for a little bit of swearing.


**Here's another story I wrote for university. This time it was for Writing for Performance. I wrote a first draft of this and transferred it to script form. This is basically a final version of the original form. Once more, please, oh please tell me WHATEVER you think. I need to learn and I want this story to be as good as it possibly can be.  
I apologise if anything in here doesn't match up to how it's meant to be, continuity-and-character-wise, and all that jazz. Please note: This does not occur within the continuity of the New 52.  
Lastly, if ya need a better view of the main character, there's a link at the top of my profile.****  
****(Sorry about having the wrong URL before, for some reason it won't work properly when I try to put it here.)**

**Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston  
Wonder Woman & all related names, characters & images owned by DC Comics, Inc.**

* * *

A small wooden boat was made its way down a river. It was inside a dark cave, the only source of light coming from a lantern hanging from a rod on the boat. The river was calm and its banks were dull and rocky. While it seemed ordinary and disinteresting, the river was anything but.

This was the river Styx, river of the dead and path to the Underworld.

The boat moved at a slow, patient pace, the rod pushed against the riverbed with a practiced stroke from the spindly gray fingers of a silent, cloaked ferryman. He took his passenger towards the rivers' end, as he had done countless times, before. This patron, however, was not his usual fare.

The passenger was a beautiful, tall, athletically-yet-sensually-built, blonde-haired woman. She was clearly no ordinary woman, though, as her skin was a somewhat dark shade of reddish-orange and her eyes lightly glowed a single, solid colour of purple. The demoness was lying on her back with a leg crossed over her raised knee, examining an ancient-looking knife in her hands.

"Whaddaya think?" She asked the ferryman, not really expecting an answer, "'s gotta be ancient Greek right? I feel like I've probably been stabbed with one a' these, before. Guy who summoned me probably stole the thing. Poor sap's gonna get it for that." As she said this, she felt a pang of something. Something that made her uncomfortable. Something she often found herself feeling when looking over one of the many trophies she had collected from her work. She brushed it off, figuring it was not worth worrying about.

She turned her attention to the ferryman, "You know, Charon, for 2400 years I've been meaning to say this: if you talked a little more, these trips'd be plenty more tolerable."

The ferryman stopped rowing and looked at her for a moment, his irritation palpable despite his hidden features, before turning his attention back to his duty.

Putting her hands up in defeat, his passenger conceded. She relaxed back into the boat and started picking under her nails with the knife. She chuckled and said to herself, "And that's why I didn't bother asking for all those years." She stopped for a moment as she felt another familiar, yet uncomfortable feeling. Again, she could not recognise what it was, and again, she pushed it aside, thinking nothing of it.

Before long, she heard the noise of light snoring from a short distance in front of the boat and quickly perked up, whipping herself around to search out over the riverbank. A smile appeared on her face as a large mass of black fur appeared on the bank as the boat turned a bend.

"Cerby!" She called out to the mass, from which the head of a dog shot up, followed by another and then another. Cerberus quickly stood and began barking for his best friend. The woman leapt from the boat, shaking it greatly, though the ferryman had already braced himself, knowing this was coming. The pony-sized dog ran and jumped to meet the woman in mid-air above the bank. He knocked her onto her back and began messily licking her face with all three tongues, the woman laughing with elation the whole time.

The woman clapped the dog as best she could from her position before eventually pushing him off of her to stand up. She beckoned the dog over to cuddle and nuzzle his heads. "Awww, ya missed me, didn't ya?" She cooed to him, "I missed you, too, boy."

The happy reunion was interrupted as a sound caught both of their attentions. The woman looked down to her feet to see the ancient knife embedded in the ground. She turned to the ferryman to see he was turning the boat to make his way back upstream.

"Ignore 'im, Cerby." She said to the hellhound, "He just doesn't care for any sentiment." She made sure to speak the last part loud enough to be heard up the river as she knelt down and picked the knife up.

"Ya wanna go play, boy? Do ya, huh?" She spoke excitedly to Cerberus, who responded in kind.

After turning with a skip, she went to get something for a game of fetch, but she stopped and tensed up as she felt a familiar sensation: a summoning. She disappeared in a flash of black light, leaving Cerberus alone and whining at the loss of his friend. Knowing what the flash of light meant, he moved back up shore, turned in place for a bit and lied down to resume his long, tedious duty as guardian of the Underworld.

* * *

A quiet road in the countryside was flanked by stone wall-bordered fields that were darkened by the night. The moonlight that could penetrate the clouds highlighted rolling hills in the distance. There were no cars, no people, no animals, no sound. It was peaceful.

This tranquility, however, was host to an isolated, circular, four-storey, stone tower which had been made the site of a dangerous and taboo ritual. A minor, hot-pink glow emanated from the windows of the tower. A murmur could be heard even from the road trailing from it; if only there was anyone there to hear it.

Inside the tower's old, thick walls it was wide enough to accommodate a pair of buses. In the room was a gathering of a couple-dozen creatures that appeared to be both animal and human. They walked on two legs, stood straight and had opposable digits on their hands. Yet they had fur or rough skin and the distinctive heads of animals. Each was heavily-built, lightly-armoured and clearly powerful, yet the group of bipedal lions, boars, rhinos and others knelt prostrate around a purple-haired woman clad in a rune-etched purple dress, cape and tiara that painted a picture of mysticism.

She faced a glowing circle of ornate, unrecognisable runes painted in the centre of the floor in various substances and bordered by candles, which permeated the room with the scent of incense. Above the constant murmur of her many subjects, she chanted her own words in a dead language. She slowly raised her arms and a wind inexplicably began. It came from all directions, removing all scents from the space and kicking up dust as it began circling the runes and brought the flames of the candles with it, creating a funnel of wind and fire. As the twister rose to the building's high ceiling, a sinister smile crossed the sorceress' face while she and her creatures said the last words of their spell. The fiery wind ceased and the candles went out, leaving the tower in near-pitch blackness. For a few moments there was silence and several of the creatures inwardly questioned their mistress' success. Their doubts were extinguished, however, when there was a sound that sent a chill down all of their spines.

"Circe!"

The loud, rumbling, irritated voice practically shook the stone and made most of the creatures slightly jump in fright. A pair of glowing, purple eyes appeared above where the circle of runes was. Their glow managed to illuminate a feminine silhouette in the dust. Only the sorceress maintained her composure and smirked at her success while her minions shifted and tensed.

The sorceress chuckled in her throat, "It's nice to know I'm remembered, down there."

"Ther're plenty down there that'd be happy to see you burn. Not to mention, he's been after ya for some time, what with all you've pulled."

"No surprise there." The sorceress replied with a callous smirk. "But anyway, I've got a job for you. You can have some of my Beastiamorphs, here, in exchange." Circe said as she gestured towards the creatures.

The silhouette scoffed in distain. "Of course. Everyone else has to pay the price, right?"

Circe smiled, menacingly. "Right."

The silhouette sighed, and responded, "Fine. Now whaddaya want?"

"As it happens, I've got a thorn in my side the exact size and shape of a certain Amazonian princess. I want you to take care of her."

The purple orbs narrowed at this. Their owner remained silent, processing the request. "Ya want me to kill someone?" She asked the sorceress, who nodded in confirmation. Incredulously, she begins to retort with "I don't think-" Before she refused, she though for a moment. This was not a request she had received before, taking a life. Could she really kill someone?

However, she knew that she had little choice in the matter. Were she to refuse... With dread, she remembered a certain helmet; one of metal, horns and bars. She remembered the pain the wearer of that helmet brought the last time she did not accomplish a job she had been summoned for.

She pushed her reluctance aside. What problem was there? She knew the victim would get whatever they deserved when she was done with them. "Alright," She said, hurriedly. "Who's it gonna be?"

* * *

Two days later at 08:00pm at night in Washington D.C., the cityscape was dotted with the lights of many rooms across many buildings. The Grecian-style buildings and the dedicated monuments were lit up to ensure that they continued to pay homage throughout the night. It was a quiet night, with the streets sparsely-crowded and few cars on the roads.

In an pub close to the city's centre, a tall, ebony-haired, statuesque woman in a simple leather jacket and jeans walked through the doors and scanned the interior. The pub was moderately crowded, leaving few seats available. A layer of chatter from the patrons was muffled by music. The pub had a unique smell, one that came from an eclectic mix of many, though had the unmistakable, underlying odour of stale beer. It was one that, no doubt, was familiar and comforting to regular patrons, though they would be hard-pressed to figure out why.

With no tables available, the woman sat at the bar and ordered a glass of Coca Cola. She showed the bartender her drivers license, knowing it was proper, even if it was unnecessary. It read, 'Diana Prince'.

Diana sat at the bar with her drinks for about an hour while taking in the music and tried to relax, but found that her guard was not dropped so easily. Such is the case for a woman in her position. Those who would not recognise her and a select few in her life that did, indeed knew her as Diana Prince. Another select few friends, family and associates knew her as Diana of Themyscyra, princess of an island society of immortal warrior women from Ancient Greece, known as the Amazons. But, to the world at large, in her alter ego, she was known as one of the world's greatest superheroes, the super-powered, highly-trained Spirit of Truth, Wonder Woman.

She had worked harder than usual, lately, having investigated and shut down a drug-dealing operation in the city while still protecting the people from harm. After some convincing from a friend, she decided to take a few days off to relax. However, she found that difficult, considering her usual routine of being watchful for danger. Diana wished that she could be one of the other patrons in the pub, if only for one night, just to find the place more inviting. Even if she could not find that comfort, she kept trying to enjoy herself.

She saw someone take the stool next to her out of the corner of her eye. The person ordered a rum and coke and leaned on the bar with a relaxed smile. Diana shifted her focus back to her own drink, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as she tried to follow the person's example, but still failed. Had she kept her eyes open, she might have seen the brief, small, purple glow emanating from her side and reflecting off of all the glasses at the bar.

"'Evenin'." Diana heard from a voice beside her. She turned her head to see the person had turned to greet her. She also noticed that this person was a beautiful, long golden-haired woman with one of the friendliest smiles she had ever seen and a white blouse with the top few buttons undone.

Diana gave her a smile of her own and responded, "Good evening."

"Can't say I've seen you in here before." The woman continued, in a very casual American accent.

"I wouldn't imagine so; I don't get many days off."

"Well," The woman started as she turned on her stool and extended a hand, "I'm Molly."

Diana's smile widened, her night had taken a welcome turn. She accepted the hand and shook it with vigor. "Diana."

An impressed look crossed Molly's face as she gestured slightly downwards at Diana with her head, "That's one fine lookin' coat you're wearin'."

Wonder Woman glanced down at her jacket, "Oh, thank you." She responded.

"'s nice to meetcha, Diana. Can I buy ya a round?"

"Oh, no, thank you. I'm not that much of drinker."

Molly put on a look of mock-confusion. "I think ya came to the wrong place, then." She said with a chuckle.

Diana laughed. She had the feeling that this was exactly what she needed.

The two women continued to talk well into the night, sharing stories, jokes and opinions. Diana found that this woman provided lovely company that finally allowed her to relax. Although she did not even realize this fact, she was so enthralled in the conversation. She noted with delight that her drinking buddy was also hung up on their exchange.

"I remember it vividly," Diana recounted, "I was kneeling there, disarming one of the mines, and I had a realization. I had always been so detached from the issue of left-over land mines that I had never thought of how dangerous they can really be. Being there, disarming it myself, I gained a whole new respect for the others who voluntarily put themselves in such danger far more often than I ever will."

Molly sat there, leaning on her propped-up hand, completely awestruck at the ebony-haired woman's story, finding herself with her own newfound respect for her.

"Wow," The blonde managed, slightly spaced out, "Must feel pretty good."

Wonder Woman smiled, "Yes, it is always nice knowing I have helped someone."

Molly snapped her attention back to Diana. "Oh, well yeah, a'course," She began, "That's great, but I was thinkin' of how you're able to just go to these kinda' places n' do what ya wanna do."

Diana's smile disappeared as she heard this, replaced with a concerned and confused expression. "What do you mean? Surely you have...?"

Molly inwardly pursed her lips and shook her head, "Nope."

Wonder Woman's expression intensified, "Why in the world not?"

The blonde hesitated, "I guess my job keeps me tied down, I don't get time for sight-seein', or anythin'." She looked uncomfortable for a moment, but shook it off. She put on a smile and said, "Oh well," She picked up her glass, "Still seen me plenty a' places, at least." She took a swig.

The pity Diana felt for this woman was clear on her face. In her life had seen all manner of magnificent places, met wonderful people and enjoyed doing amazing things. Those were obviously things that this woman longed to experience. Diana made a decision within seconds, "Well, that is something we shall have to remedy, then, isn't it?"

Molly stared at Diana from behind her glass, disbelievingly. She set the glass aside and responded with, "Whaddaya mean?"

"Well, it seems to me like you want a change of scenery. I could talk to some people and get you a more fitting job. One that will let you still have time for yourself."

Molly sat there with her mouth agape, completely speechless. Wonder Woman could see in her eyes that she was contemplating the offer, and that it was terribly conflicting for her.

The blonde tried to respond, but something kept holding her back each time. What is was, Diana could not properly guess, but she knew that she would need some time, so she put a hand on Molly's shoulder, which caught the other woman's attention, and gently said to her, "You do not need to answer me right now. Take what time you need." She removed her hand and reached into her jacket to pull out a pen, then took a paper towel from the bar and began writing on it. "You can call me on this number if you come to a decision."

Diana handed the number to Molly, who took it, still lost for words. She clearly had too much on her mind, so she put the number in her pocket and turned back to the bar.

The ebony-haired woman turned to own drink, giving her new friend the time she needed to gather her thoughts.

When Molly did finally manage to speak, all she said was, "Thanks."

Diana smiled. She had hope that her companion would find her way, and that their night could continue to be delightful.

By the time the pub closed, they were the last two inside and they had accumulated a generous pile of glasses. After paying, they left out the door, only to realize that a rainstorm had long-since started.

Molly spoke up in an irritated tone, "Ah, Hell," She turned to Diana, "Well, it was nice meetin' ya, Di. I'll call ya, sometime." She turned and began to walk away.

Diana quickly stopped her before she left the canopy over the bar's entrance and said, "Hold it right there. I am not about to let you walk home in this." Molly turned to protest, but Diana put her fingers to her lips to shush her. "I will not hear a 'no'. Now where's your house?"

Genuinely shocked at the woman's generosity, Molly shifted from the fingers on her lips to say, "A complex a few blocks down."

One rushed jog through the rain later, the two ladies stepped into Diana's car and made their way through the sleeping city.

They soon arrived at the apartment building after the rain had died down to a drizzle. The blonde stepped out of the car and leaned into the window as Diana lowered it, "Thanks a mil', Di. I'll see ya some other time."

"Any time. It was good meeting you, Molly." Diana said, delighted to have helped.

Molly turned and walked to the entrance. Diana prepared to leave, but found herself confused as her car would not start. Molly heard the engine's refusal to turn over and walked back.

"Problems?" She said.

"Yes," Diana responded. Hopeful, she asked "Do you know anything about cars?"

"A bit, I guess." The blonde responded.

Molly moved to the car's front, lifted the hood and was hit with a cloud of smoke. Coughing, Molly shut the hood, returned to Diana and said, "Eeyup, this car's busted."

Diana looked confused, "How could that be?"

Molly shrugged.

"Oh, well," Diana said, "The walk will do me well."

Molly immediately responded, "Oh, I don't think so. You're stayin' with me, tonight." She marched around to the driver's side door, opened it and half-dragged Diana out.

Diana attempted to protest, "That's not necce-"

But Molly silenced her with, "Don't even, Di, you won't win that argument, not after your own charity." She took the keys from Diana's hand and locked the car with a bleep. She then pulled her along into the entrance.

The raven-haired woman chuckled and thought for a moment before conceding with, "Very well." The glass doors of the hotel closed behind her. Had she looked back, she would have seen smoke from her car's engine leaking into the inside via a perfectly round hole burned through to the front compartment from the passenger's seat.

The two arrived in Molly's lavish suite, which thoroughly impressed Diana. The top-floor room was easily the size of several standard ones, with every amenity one would expect to find in the home of a rich person and a large plane of thick glass making up part of the wall, looking over the city and another apartment building on the side.

Diana asked, "What in the world do you do that lets you have a place like this?"

"Oh, this and that. Let's not talk about work, shall we?"

"Very well. What will we talk about?"

Molly smiled, anticipating the conversation to come.

The two continued to talk into the small hours of the morning. Eventually, they both felt the need to rest.

* * *

Before too long, Diana had gone to sleep on a couch facing the window. Molly approached the front of the sleeping beauty, but instead of the bright face she had had most of the night, she wore a serious look, as if she were about to do something she knew she would regret.

With reluctance, she hesitantly reached out and very tentatively placed her hands next Diana's chin and the back of her head, ready to twist. She stood tense and greatly struggled with something in her mind as her stomach churned, almost painfully. She looked to the ground and shook her head, trying to get rid of her conflicting feelings, but found the task impossible. Her frustration grew to a boiling point until she let out a, "Damn it," forgetting, for a moment, her situation.

Diana woke up, saw the hands by her head, recognised their purpose and reacted with the kind of instincts seen in a warrior: she slapped Molly's hands away, pulled her down by the shoulders, placed a foot in her gut and leaned back to knock over the couch, land on the floor and project her across the room with her foot.

Molly, in her shock, was unable to recover, giving Diana the opportunity to rush over and put her in a full nelson. Realization of the situation hit Diana, and while she felt a pang of betrayal, moreso, she wanted answers, "Who are you and why are you doing this!?"

Molly, though angered that her first attempt failed, conceded to her situation and visibly decided on another tactic. She pulled her head forward and, with great speed and power, violently headbutted Diana, launching her several feet back. The Amazon felt some blood flowing from her nose, which shocked Diana, not having had the time to consider that this woman was strong enough to harm her. Molly quickly flew above her, yelling and holding her hands clenched together above her head before bringing them down. Diana barely rolled out of the way and the blonde's fists blew out the floor immediately beneath her, frightening the people in that room. Diana flew at her and locked her in a bear hug with all her might, with them facing each other. "Stop this!" She demanded, "Whatever your reasons, there is no need-"

"Don't even bother, Wondie," Molly interjected, slightly shocking Diana. Molly then took in a deep breath of air and blew out a gout of fire.

Diana was set alight and instinctually backed off. Despite her power, she still felt every bit of flesh flare up in pain, completely obscuring every sense and thought, indicating that this was no ordinary fire. Before she could gather her senses, Molly struck her in the face with a powerful punch, sending her flying out of the apartment door and into the corridor. Diana caught herself in mid-air in time to see Molly flying at her. Still aflame, she waited until the right moment and hit back, the force of which sent the blonde back down the corridor and through her apartment wall, along with a small shockwave that splintered and cracked the doors and walls in its wake. Diana then spun around at high speed for a second, putting out the flames.

Seeing her clothes were mostly burnt away, she removed from her jacket's inner pocket a golden tiara with a red star adorning the jutting triangle shape in the centre and placed it in her mane of ebony hair. She then tore away her outer clothing to reveal a battle-ready, red corset; 'W'-shaped, gold breastplate; blue, white-starred briefs; 'W'-shaped, gold belt; white-trimmed, red boots; silver gauntlets and a glowing, golden rope on her hip.

Having gotten up, Molly walked through the hole in the wall she had made, kicking out the bottom that remained. Seeing that her target had dropped her disguise, she decided, "Fair enough." Her clothes began to seemingly melt and shift around on her skin, changing shape and colour, becoming thick, jagged and jet-black. This shifting mass eventually formed her own corset, belt, trousers, boots and long gloves, all thick, black and jagged. It also formed a partial frame around her face. Her skin changed tones, returning to reddish-orange. While her beautiful face and hair remained, her eyes became a total, solid, lightly-glowing purple, once again.

"I have never seen you, before," Wonder Woman observed, "Why are you doing this?"

"I'll tell ya when you're on the ground, twitchin'."

At that moment, someone in the corridor opened their door to see what was happening. "Get back inside, now!" Diana shouted, which the person did. This distraction allowed her attacker to fly at her, tackle her feet out from under her and then return to tackle her in the back, through the corridor, through her apartment and exploding out of the window, all in three seconds. Within the hail of small, broken fragments, Molly released the Amazon, pulled her legs to her chest and thrust them into her opponent's back. Diana was sent flying through the opposing apartment building and slammed into the road on the other side, kicking up debris, knocking over cars and creating a crater along the width of the road.

After a dazed moment, Wonder Woman got back on her feet with a kip-up and observed her surroundings; thanks to the time of night, there were no people on the street and there was no sign of Molly through the building she came through. She heard a wooshing sound from the building's side and looked to see her opponent flying at her at high speed with her fist drawn behind her. At the last second, she rose her hands and crossed her wrists, blocking the incoming fist with her indestructible gauntlets. With the speed Molly was moving and the force she put into her punch into the indestructible armour, her momentum was stopped entirely, creating a powerful shockwave that either cracked or shattered all of the windows on the block and caused cracks to appear along the armour on her hand. She reeled back in pain at this and Diana took the opportunity to strike her in the solar plexus. Unfortunately for her, Molly's anatomy did not appear to be the same as a human's and Molly proceeded to smack her on either side of the head.

Her senses impaired for moment, the Amazon barely registered that her attacker's eyes were glowing stronger, as if gathering energy. With only milliseconds to spare, she raised her gauntlets to block the incoming purple beams of energy shooting out of Molly's eyes, causing the beams to spit in several directions.

Knowing the amount of damage their clash would cause if it continued, Wonder Woman angled her bracelets to hit Molly in the gut with the beams that reflected off of her bracers, halting her attack and giving Diana the chance to take off into the air to float several hundred feet above the cityscape. She was followed closely by her attacker, who's hand was drawn back, and glowing. Molly thrust her hand forward as she flew upwards and unleashed a large beam of purple energy at Diana, forcing her to twist to dodge, but still got glanced along her upper back, making her shout in surprise and pain. Molly capitalised by torpedoing her fist into Diana's kidney. The pain of the blow almost made Diana think that her kidney had exploded, but she knew better, and furthermore, she had more important things to worry about. She gritted her teeth and set the pain aside to turn to her opponent, only to meet a gust of cold wind in her face, creating a layer of ice around her head. Diana was left reeling after this, allowing Molly, with a wisp of cool air coming out of her mouth, to unleash a series of rapid, powerful blows to her abdomen, followed up by grabbing her head and bringing it down into her thrusting knee, shattering the ice and leaving Wonder Woman on the edge of consciousness. Just as the Amazon began falling, Molly grabbed her by the hair and held her up, the rest of her body going limp. With a tone that was clearly forced, in order to hide something else, Molly told her victim, "'s nothin' personal, Wondie. It's just that Circe's pissed off."

Fighting desperately to stay conscious, Wonder Woman's eyes widened at the mention of her long-time nemesis.

Molly maintained a steely face as she raised her free hand and clenched her fist. The spikes on her gauntlet melted and shifted until they formed two, foot-long, jagged spikes that jutted out above her hand. She breathed in and brought her fist backwards to deliver the finishing strike, but her breath caught in her throat and her face shifted and twitched with various emotions. She hesitated.

The revelation that Circe may have been up to something had pushed Diana to dig deep and find any energy she had left. With the demoness' delay, she found enough to use a technique she had learned from a master fighter; she jabbed her index and middle fingers into Molly's eyes. Molly instinctively moved back in pain and raised her hands to her eyes, giving Diana the opening she needed to thrust her knee into her attacker's gut, making her double over. Running on her last adrenalin rush and with her enemy still in a horizontal, vulnerable position, she then smashed her elbow and knee into the front and back of Molly's neck at full force, simultaneously.

Holding her neck, which felt more like a battered piece of meat that barely connected her head to her shoulders, Molly was paralysed by the immense pain, the likes of which she had never experienced.

Her opponent well and truly stunned, Diana removed the Lasso of Truth from her hip, threw it over Molly and flew around her at high speeds several times, fastening the unbreakable string around her arms and legs with knots and holding the end in her fist. Diana made her final move by flying Molly down at high speed, hand on her head and knee in her back, crashing her face first into the rooftop of a skyscraper.

The impact caused Molly to black out for a moment and when she opened her eyes, she saw blackness and was standing up, unbound. She turned in place to take in her surroundings, finding nothing but black.

Thoroughly confused, she looked around for her target and called, "Hey, Wondie! Where are you?!" Receiving no answer, she tried again, "Where the Hell am I?! If you think this'll scare me, sister, you're wrong! I've seen way worse places that this!"

"I am not sure you have," Wonder Woman's voice called from all over.

Unimpressed, Molly retorted, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I can't see this friggin' place, at all!"

"I know. And that is what I fear."

Molly could not understand it; she thought she could hear genuine pity and sadness in Diana's voice.

"What are you talkin' abou-"

"Termoliah!" A low, gravely, dreadfully familiar voice shouted from behind her. Instantly freezing her to the spot with fear and creating an uncomfortable pit in her gut.

After a few painful seconds the voice continued in a tone that barely concealed it's irritation, "Turn and face me when I address you."

Molly knew that she should, knew what would happen if she did not, but her body would not respond to her demands. A familiar feeling of helplessness crept into her mind, hitting her even harder than any other emotion. She somehow managed to tense up even more as she heard the clanking sound of plated armour stepping towards her, each footfall making her all but jump with fright. She felt an intense heat approach as the steps got closer. Molly felt as though she would break down at any second. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes.

As she feared, a hand fell on her shoulder, though rather than the harsh, metal-covered hand she had expected, it was a careful, soft hand meant to comfort. The quiet, soothing voice of Wonder Woman spoke to her, "I know of your past and I know what he has done to you and made you do. For fear of him, you have done so many things that you have only come to regret."

Molly felt familiar, unwelcome emotions that she was still yet to identify. Unlike previous times, however, despite her efforts, she was unable to brush them away and she was forced to feel the full brunt of them. After so many centuries, she realized what they were.

"Do not try to reject it." Diana counseled her, "Such an action would be a lie. Only the truth exists in this place. In your soul."

And it was true, as countless years of repressed shame, contempt, anger, frustration and self-loathing relentlessly flooded into her mind, overwhelming her thoughts.

Wonder Woman felt terrible at what she had just done. It was a process she always hated forcing on her enemies and she never felt its impact lessen. Her only solace was that she knew for a fact that it would always pay off in the long term, given time and care.

This time, though, was exceptionally harsh. This woman's troubles were as dreadful as they were numerous. The kind of things Diana would not wish on her greatest enemy and that she could not stand to ponder.

Unfortunately, immediately helping Molly was not possible, as she went limp and fell back into Wonder Woman's arms, eyes wide open and twin streaks of tears on her face.

Back on the rooftop, Wonder Woman gasped. She turned the blonde over onto her back to see the same face. She gripped Molly's shoulders and squeezed them while saying, "Molly? Molly,can you hear me!?" There was no response. Diana's worry immediately spiked. A check of her pulse confirmed the blonde was alive, though continued attempts proved that she was unresponsive. This was something Diana had never encountered before. With haste, she reached for a communication device tucked into her belt. Raising it to her mouth, she kept her worry in check as she spoke, "J'onn, beam me and one other up to the watchtower and prepare the medical bay."

The moment she finished speaking, the two women faded away in blue light.

* * *

The Justice League of America, the greatest defenders of the Earth and her people. They constantly watched for threats from the best of vantage points: the Watchtower, an orbiting satellite home to its ranks, transport and means to watch over the world.

Among the tower's amenities was the medical bay, and in there, Wonder Woman sat at the bedside of the woman who had attacked her. Said woman was hooked up to several special machines that were needed for her unusual biology. It had been several hours and her condition had not changed; she was immobile, unresponsive and her eyes were still wide open; she was catatonic.

The room was the standard hospital white. It was a fair size with the bed sat in the centre and the machines on either side. A pair of electrical sliding doors was the only entrance. The side wall featured a large window which offered a view of the blue planet below.

Alongside Wonder Woman was one of her oldest compatriots, a muscular, bald, green man with an oddly-shaped head. He wore dark-blue boots, briefs and cape draped across his shoulders by a golden chain and a red belt with large, crossing, red straps over his shoulders. This man was J'onn J'onzz, the telepathic, shapeshifting superhero known as the Martian Manhunter. He sat on a chair opposite from Diana with his eyes closed, deep in concentration. After a few moments, he opened his eyes to reveal their solid, red colour.

"What can see you in her mind, J'ohnn?" Wonder Woman asked.

The martian turned to her with a look of sympathy and slowly shook his head.

Diana leaned her head onto her fist, sullen.

J'ohnn stood up and said, "Her mind is clouded by intense emotions and she will not respond. Not even psychically." He placed a hand on Diana's shoulder. "The best we can do for her is wait and let her recover."

Diana let out a sigh and thanked her friend before he left.

She had never done this to anyone before. Had never harmed someone in such a way by revealing their true nature to them. She did not know how to deal with this. She only prayed that J'ohnn was right and that this woman could recover.

She looked back at the blonde. She said that Circe had sent her. Did that mean her old nemesis was plotting something, or did the sorceress simply want her dead? Either way, the health of this woman, Molly, was more important. She was in a dire condition and Circe could not simply be found, she had evaded them for this long.

Diana leaned on the bed. She looked into Molly's unmoving eyes and spoke to her, "I do not know if you can hear me, but if you can, please listen. I bear no ill will towards you for attacking me. I know that you were made to do Circe's bidding by your master. I know you did not want to. When you wake up, please remember this."

"M-Miss Wonder Woman."

Diana turned to see a young nurse in the doorway. She was holding what Diana assumed was a chart of Molly's latest results close to her chest and she shifted on her feet, clearly nervous talking to her.

"I n-noticed that you've, um, been here for a while. A-and I just read her newest test results and sh-she's still in no trouble. So I was thinking that, um, I-I could stay and watch her while you get some rest and I'll, uh, call you if she im-improves."

The princess smiled, warmly; this woman was kind and brave, and she was right. She had been there for a long time and the fight had taken a lot out of her.

She stood up, slightly frightening the young woman, and moved to leave. She thanked the nurse and patted her on the shoulder, which calmed her down and put a smile on her face.

* * *

Several hours later and Molly's condition had not changed. She was still lain out on the hospital bed, not having moved an inch. Until now.

While her mind was still clouded over by emotions and memories, brief, clear flashes began to appear before her eyes. These she could make out, and in these moment of clarity she was deeply disturbed. She saw flames, chains and a familiar, demonic helmet. With each image, she twitched, getting the attention of the nurse, who cautiously moved towards her.

Suddenly, Molly sat up with a start, startling the nurse, who almost screamed. The blonde gasped in a breath of air and gripped the bars of the bed, bending them outwards and crushing them in her fists. She took in deep, quick breaths, almost sounding as if she was hyperventilating.

The nurse regained her composure and approached her, though not too close, and said, "It's okay. It's okay."

Molly snapped her head around to look at the nurse, who jumped slightly backwards in fright.

Wide-eyed and slightly in shock, Molly stared at the nurse, who told her, "It's fine. You're safe."

The demoness managed to calm herself enough to try and speak, "Wh... Wh-where...?"

"You're on the Justice League watchtower." The nurse assured her, "You were brought you here this morning. You've been catatonic."

With this, Molly finally managed to slow her breathing to normal. She looked around to see the sterile walls and metal equipment of the room, as well as the large window on the adjacent wall which she could see the Earth through, giving her time to let her situation sink in.

She let out a deep breath and dropped her head in her hands, her hair hiding her head as she tried to remember what had happened.

The nurse went to leave and told Molly, "I told Wonder Woman I would tell her if you got any better. Near as we can tell, you're perfectly healthy, so don't worry about anything." She opened the sliding doors and added before leaving the room, "If you need anything, there's a button to call me right next to you." With that, she gave Molly a friendly smile and left.

But Molly did not see the smile, nor did she hear the words of comfort.

She raised her head from her hand and her hair parted to reveal a pair of inhumanly enraged eyes. At the mention of Wonder Woman, she remembered everything as it hit her once again, in waves. The pain. The guilt. The humiliation. The hate.

She clenched her fist. Flames seeped out between her fingers. With a scream that contained centuries of frustration, she threw a fireball at the window. It shattered and melted at the same time and the breach in the tower opened her room to the vacuum of space, blowing her and every loose object in the room out into the black. Fuelled by her anger, she rode the momentum and rocketed towards the planet at speeds not visible to the human eye. She created a trail of fire as she re-entered the Earth's atmosphere.

* * *

Back in the stone tower in the countryside, Circe the sorceress sat with her legs crossed and leaning heavily on the arm of an elaborate throne she had summoned for herself, flanked by a pair of armed guards. The rest of her anthropomorphic servants not keeping watch on the roof were gathered around two more, watching them fight each other. Torches had been erected to illuminate the room.

She watched as her minions fought one another, in an attempt to keep herself occupied. She had told Termoliah that she would wait for her in the tower until she finished her mission. She had long since regretted the decision, as she had grown tired of waiting within the first day.

"How do you figure blondie's doing with the Amazon?" She asked the minion to her right.

"I do not know, my mistress." The lion responded.

Annoyed, Circe said, "I know you don't, that's why I asked what you think, idiot."

She drummed her fingers against her cheeks, impatiently. "Screw it," She exclaimed, "I'm just gonna call her."

As Circe finished her sentence, the roof of the tower burst inwards and chunks of stone plummeted to the ground. However, something beat the stones to the ground and slammed into it with enough force and speed to throw Circe's minions into the walls and kick up a cloud of dust. Circe raised her hands to cover herself in a protective shield. Some of the rocks fell on top of several of the tough creatures, knocking them out or pinning them, while most of them fell harmlessly to the ground.

From within the shield, Circe looked out to see what had happened, but could not penetrate the cloud. However, she did manage to see some flashes of purple light, which also highlighted the silhouettes of her minions, who appeared to be trying to fight a smaller, feminine figure. Instinctively, Circe leaned in closer to try and get a better look through her shield, but jumped back in fright when one of her larger servant slammed into it.

Deciding she had had enough, Circe raised her hands and concentrated her energy on the dust. She parted her hands to her sides and the dust cloud followed, splitting in half to clear the way.

Circe saw Termoliah, her black armour on, beating her slaves as they tried to attack her. She punched and kicked them into unconsciousness, slammed and threw them into and through the walls and blasted them with beams of purple energy.

Circe felt both angry and confused, but decided to put an end to this before she had find new slaves. She charged up energy in her hand and lowered the shield. Molly held down a boar and prepared to knock him out but was blasted into the wall by a large beam of hot-pink energy from Circe's extended hand. She dug her feet into the floor and raised her hands to block the beam, causing energy to arc out around her. She took slow steps towards Circe, pushing against the beam. With her free hand, Circe signaled the remaining conscious creatures to stand back and wait. When Molly got to the centre of the room Circe suddenly stopped her attack, causing Molly to stumble, and she ordered her minions to grab her while she was vulnerable. The creatures obeyed and attempted to restrain the demoness, who made it very difficult for them. Eventually, the creatures were forced to push her onto the ground, leaning their weight against her limbs to hold her down, though she still resisted

Circe stormed towards Termoliah, anger very clear on her face. Molly stopped her struggles and looked up at the sorceress, who hesitated in her tracks when she saw the look of pure hatred the demoness gave her. Not to be intimidated, Circe knelt down to look at Molly and said, "What do you think you're doing, you little tramp?! You're supposed to be working for me!" She grabbed Molly by her hair and stared daggers into her eyes. "Do you know what I do to people screw me over?" She threatened. Molly did not respond.

Circe prepared to finish her off, but a glow in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Molly's hand was letting off a purple light.

Fearing what the demoness could be about to do, Circe tried to finish her attack, but was too late. With a massive amount of magical energy caught from Circe's beam gathered in her hand, Molly clicked her fingers and released it all.

The bottom of the tower exploded in an uncontrolled blast of purple energy. The stonework shattered and was flung out in all directions to scatter around the field. The still-intact top was sent flying and slammed into the ground, where several more stones broke off and it rolled over the grass. Joining the stonework were the unconscious bodies of all of Circe's minions and her throne, which she had been flung into.

Circe, teetering on the edge of consciousness, lied over the back of her knocked-over throne. In her state, she could barely comprehend what had just happened. She was shocked into awareness when her throne was knocked away across the field. Molly stood over her, rage dominating her features and tears streaming down her face.

Circe raised her hands to attack, but Termoliah grabbed her by the arms and flicked her wrists. The sorceress screamed as her forearms were broken in half, her bones jutted out of her skin. Termoliah grabbed her by the throat, silencing her, and lifted her off of the ground. The demoness glared into Circe's screaming eyes, not caring for the paralysing suffering she had just caused her. She was only concerned with her hatred. She pulled her head back while pushing Circe's away from her, then pulled it back to deliver a massive headbutt, and then another and another, breaking Circe's nose, splattering blood on herself and knocking the sorceress out. In a voice dripping rage, she said to the unconscious sorceress, "I am done doin' other people's business. Done doin' the wrong thing because someone else told me to. Done subjectin' myself." As she said this, her eyes glowed with a gathering energy.

"Molly, stop!"

Termoliah snapped around to face the female voice to her side. Wonder Woman floated to the ground a short distance away, a look of concern on her face.

"Don't tell me to stop." The demoness responded, vehemently, "This bitch almost had me kill you." She tightened her grip around Circe's neck as she said this.

"I know," Diana replied, keeping a calm voice to avoid provoking her distraught friend, "And I know she has done terrible things, but this is not right."

Termoliah took in angered breaths as she turned back to Circe, intending to follow through with her task.

"Please, Molly. I know why you are doing this."

This caught Molly's attention.

"When you were in my lasso, I saw what pained you."

Molly's look softened slightly as she looked at Diana.

"You have been made to do things that would break most people and you are angry."

Diana began slowly approaching the demoness.

"But this is not the way to handle it. I can help you find the right way."

The compassion in Wonder Woman's voice both confused and astounded Termoliah, but she was skeptical. Snapping her head back to Circe, she said, "What the Hell do you care? Didn't I just try to kill you, yesterday?"

Somewhat taken aback, Diana slowed her approach and replied, "Yes, but you were forced. You did not want to harm me."

Termoliah shook her head, still adamant. "That's no excuse, and you know it."

Diana hesitated a few feet from Molly. She knew that that was true; such an attack can never be justified. But she did know one thing. She spoke to Molly, "No, it is not."

The demoness hardened up once again, that much closer to taking out her anger on the sorceress.

"But it is a sign." Wonder Woman said as she took a few more steps.

This confused Molly, had she not just said she had done wrong? She responded, "What're you talking about? A sign of what?"

Once again, Molly felt the comforting hand of the Diana on her shoulder.

"A sign that you want to change. To be redeemed. To begin anew. And you can." The Spirit of Truth told her troubled friend.

Molly did not know what to think. She had done many things that she despised herself for. How could Wonder Woman, one of the greatest superheroes there is, say that she was redeemable after knowing what she had done?

"Please," Diana said, "Put her down and I will see to it she receives due justice."

Though still unsure, Molly felt something. Another emotion she could not recognise. This time, though, she did not set it aside and consider it unimportant; she knew what doing that had caused. This time, she clung to it. It felt good. It lifted some of the pain off of her shoulders.

The glow in her eyes lessened and she dropped Circe to the ground.

Diana gave Molly a comforting squeeze on her shoulder before lowering down to Circe. She rolled her onto her gut, reeling back slightly when she saw the bones protruding out of her arms. Knowing she was unconscious and would not be in pain, she tied her arms and legs up with her lasso.

"With her captured, we should be able to revert her servants back to norm-" Wonder Woman stopped as she looked back to her friend. Molly stood stock still with her eyes open and tears down her face. Fear welled in Diana's gut at the familiar signs.

This time, though, Molly let herself feel her emotions. She began sobbing. She raised her hands to her face and cried into them.

Diana let out the breath she never knew she was holding. She stood and stepped towards Molly. She gently wrapped an arm around her upset friend and raised another to the back of her head. The demoness lowered her hands to cry into the princess' shoulder.

Wonder Woman did not pat her friend's back, she did not stroke her hair and she offered no words of comfort. She simply held her and let her cry. The two stayed like that like for a while as Molly released a portion of her torrential emotions out of her eyes. While Wonder Woman felt guilty that she had indirectly caused all of this, at the same time, she felt relieved and happy that Molly had taken the first step in helping herself.

* * *

Cerberus lied on the bank of the river Styx, as he always did. Nothing had happened to him since his friend had been whisked away from him. He had been lying down guarding the entrance to the Underworld and waiting for his friend to come back, ever since.

He heard a the sound of water sloshing in the distance. His heads perked up and he looked out over the river. He saw Charon's boat coming and saw two women, one with black hair and the other with purple, facing towards him and one other familiar mane of blonde hair. He barked out to his friend who whipped around to see him. A smile broke out across Molly's face and she flew out to him, coming to his front and hugging his heads.

Cerberus, after his initial elation, noticed that the other women on the boat were alive, they should not be here. He growled at them and went to ward them off, but Molly held him in place and stroked his heads, assuring him it was fine.

He realized something was wrong with his friend, as she had not talked and had only buried herself in his fur. He lowered his heads to nuzzle her.

Eventually, Molly pulled herself back from the dog and looked at him. "I'm gonna miss ya, Cerby," She said to him, her voice shaking, "But I'll come by and visit ya, I promise."

Molly kissed her pet on each head. She turned to go back to the boat, but was stopped when felt a tug at her hair and heard a whine. She turned around to see Cerberus holding her hair. She felt as though her heart was breaking at seeing her best friend like that. But she knew this was not goodbye, so she tugged at her hair until he let go and reluctantly floated back to the boat. Charon continued moving her, Wonder Woman and the unconscious Circe towards the entrance to the Underworld while she waved to Cerberus, who continued to whine after her even after he disappeared from her sight..

Molly gripped the edge of the boat, wanting desperately to just go back and cuddle her friend. But she knew he would still be there and there was something that she had to do.

She sat back in the boat and looked at Wonder Woman, who gave her a comforting smile, which she returned.

The the walls on either side of the river seemed to come to an end and as the boat passed by them, a new sight was revealed, one neither woman was fond of having to see again. They entered into a massive cavern, dark and foreboding with air cold enough for them to see their own breath. The rock walls were jagged and clearly unclimbable, offering no escape, no matter how badly one sought it. Stalagmites rose out out of the water, forcing Charon to move the boat around them. Stalactites dangled from the ceiling, looking as if they might fall and impale someone without warning. Several tall, rocky plateaus rose from the water, connected by rope bridges which also led to caves that promised places of either rest or damnation. In the centre was the tallest and thickest of these plateaus, with a massive staircase carved into the front side which led to a large, dirty-white, Greek-style temple. Pillars held up the stone canopy above a massive, black, metal door, flanked by large torches.

The boat came to a stop in front of the staircase.

The ladies stood and Diana hoisted Circe onto her shoulder. She looked over to Molly to see she had stepped over to Charon. Molly looked at the ferryman for a moment before throwing her arms around him in a hug. "Thanks for everythin', Charon. I'll come by every now n' then. But still, I'll miss our conversations." She leaned into Charon's hood to kiss him on the bony, cold cheek. After giving him one last smile, Molly stepped off of the boat and onto the stairs.

Diana looked at Charon, who had not moved since Molly kissed him, and chuckled. This caught the ferryman's attention and he looked at her as she said, "Curious. Even Charon, the ferryman of the dead, is rendered still by the affection of a woman."

Charon seemingly glared at the Amazon; a clear message to get off his boat, which she did. Charon quickly turned his boat around to make his way back. Wonder Woman gave another chuckle before turning to face her friend.

She saw that all affection and joy had melted from Molly's face, replaced by a deathly serious look. They had walked onto the first of the many steps, the first step in their monumental task. The two looked at one another to see the will to succeed in each other's eyes, and they nodded, telling each other that they will see this through.

The two powerful women made their way up the steps, though the farewell to Charon gave them reprieve from their nerves, with each step taken, they pulsed back into existence. Wonder Woman found herself gaining a lead over her friend as the demoness' steps became slower and slower. The Amazon stopped and turned around to see Termoliah had halted, completely. Molly stood on the steps, her fists clenched and her eyes darting from side to side as she kept trying to talk herself in and out of confronting him. "Molly." The demoness snapped her head to the princess, who looked at her with another serious stare and said, "You know that you cannot continue as you were. This way you will be free."

Any hope Molly had of finding an excuse to give up was shattered by that statement. She sighed, practically defeated. "You're right," She conceded, "Damn you, you're right." She continued up the stairs alongside her friend, who gave her a reassuring pat on the arm. With her friend's reinforcement having invigorated her will, Molly raised her hand between them and Diana gripped it, a gesture of trust and determination.

They continued on until they reached the towering black doors. Molly steeled herself one last time to confront him and free herself, though in the back of her mind she still hoped he was away on some kind of business with the other Olympians, or overseeing a particular soul's punishment, anything that would mean she did not have to do this. Another part of her wished Wonder Woman would open the door and just shove her in before she found an excuse to run away. However, Diana specifically waited to allow Molly to open the door and step in, herself.

Molly finally pushed open the doors, which screeched in resistance. She revealed a large throne room, with a long carpet lain out up the middle of the long room, flanked at regular intervals by torches, that illuminated and warmed the room, and demonic guardsmen, who turned their monstrous heads and bulky, armoured, winged bodies to see who dared enter their master's presence. Upon seeing it was one of their own, they relaxed, but almost jumped into action when they saw the warrior princess who had caused their master trouble in the past. One hard look from Termoliah, though, made them hold back, though they remained on their guard.

The women walked up the carpet towards the end of the room. Molly's nerves were screaming at her to turn back and run, but she ignored them; she had not come this far to back out, now.

They approached the end of the room: a raised portion housing a large, stone throne. On that throne sat the object of Molly's fears. A man of tall stature and heavy build, wearing a set of heavy, black armour with spiked gauntlets, boots and shoulder pauldrons and a torn gray cape hanging of of them. He sat, leaning in his throne supporting his head on one hand and tapping his fingers on a certain black helmet; one with a barred face plate and horns curling from the sides to face forwards. He had shoulder-length, jet-black hair. His chiseled features curled in a smirk when he saw Molly approaching.

He spoke with a low, gravely, confident voice, "Ah, my daughter, another successful mission, I presume?"

At the word "daughter", Diana looked at her friend, incredulously.

Molly clenched her eyes shut and lowered her head, ashamed to be addressed like that by the man she hated.

The man looked at Diana and his smirk became greater, "Please tell me this was your payment. She has several crimes against me to answer for."

The Amazon looked to the man with spite and said, "No, Lord Hades, I am not your prize and I never will be."

While confused, Hades still rebutted with, "Hmph. Time will tell, princess." He looked back to his daughter. "So what is the Amazon doing here? And where is your payment?"

Molly clenched her fists and swallowed the lump in her throat. She raised her head to look Hades in the eye. "I didn't get any payment." She said to him, the venom clear in her tone. Clear enough that Hades heard it and would have told her to mind her tongue, but he never got the chance, as Termoliah continued. "I didn't get any payment because I didn't complete the job. And I didn't complete the job because I'm done."

Hades' anger started to boil. "What do you mean "done"?"

This was it. Molly stood on the point of no return. She glanced at Hades' helmet, the thing she always remembered alongside the suffering... She could lie and say she meant nothing, hand over Circe and hope that would keep her from punishment. And while every instinct in her mind told her to do so, her heart told her otherwise.

Molly looked Hades in the eye and told him, "I'm done workin' for you."

Hades' anger literally exploded, as the torches in the room burst out massive gouts of fire, causing the guards to duck and covering the ceiling in flames. A wave of heat washed over everything in the room, the guards would have burned from being next to the flames were they not native to places of such heat. Hades disappeared in a flame that engulfed him from below, and Molly jumped as he reappeared in front of her in another. He shouted in a demonic, doubled voice, "How dare you, you insolent child! I created you and now you betray me?!"

Though frightened, Molly would not waste this opportunity to express her anger by losing her cool, so she responded, "You created me so you could make me do the things I've regretted for the last 2400 years!"

With this apparently new information, Hades' face softened and his anger and the flames he was causing lessened.

Not even seeing she was making headway, and just letting her emotions flow, Molly continued, "I've been draggin' myself along all this time, always doin' the wrong thing because you wanted me to. And because I was too scared of what would happen if I didn't." Tears began forming in her eyes, once more. "I never got it before, but I've hated most of my life. So I'm done with it. I'm gonna start over."

The god of the dead was hit hard by this news. His anger faded away and the flames in the room returned to normal, the intense heat dissipated to leave the room at a tolerable warmth..

Molly felt awash with relief, finally letting out all the anger she had been repressing for years. Though she knew it was not over.

The room fell silent. Molly and Diana waited for Hades' reaction.

Hades looked away as he gathered his thought and considered what his daughter had just told him. He walked away to the look into one of the torches, the flickering flames calming his mind. After a few moments of uncertainty, he finally spoke in his initial voice, "That is how you truly feel, my child?"

Her father's affectionate tone surprised Molly. She could never have hazarded a guess at how he would truly react to her revelation, but this was far from what she would have expected. Flabbergasted, she responded, "Y-Yes, it is."

Hades let out a deep breath and spoke, "As much as I may want to, I am not sure I can simply release you; you are too valuable."

Molly felt overwhelmed. She could not speak. Wonder Woman saw this and stepped in, "Lord Hades, you know that your followers have dwindled to almost none. Surely Molly has not had many assignments in a long time."

While hearing his daughter's nickname turned his head, slightly, Hades considered Diana's logic and responded, "I suppose she has not. But still, to just free such a powerful asset would leave a sour taste in my mouth."

"You do not need to 'just free' her," Diana continued, playing to Hades' business side, "We have brought something we think might make for a suitable trade."

Diana hoisted Circe off of her shoulder and held her by the back of her outfit to present her to Hades, who turned to see what she had. "The sorceress," He exclaimed, intrigued. He addressed Wonder Woman, "I must say, I'm surprised, Diana. Leaving your enemy to suffer my brand of punishment?"

Diana placed her nemesis on the ground and said, "No other place can provide adequate holdings or justice. I know you will provide a suitable sentence."

"True, true."

He thought about the offer. Diana looked at Molly, who had tensed up, impatiently waiting for her father's decision. He looked at Temoliah and a flash of sadness briefly crossed his face. He came to a decision. "Very well."

Diana smiled and Molly's mouth hung open, not believing her ears.

He walked up to Molly and put a fatherly hand on her shoulder. "For such a valuable soul, you may have your new life, with my blessing... Molly." He said with a small smile.

Molly was overwhelmed; she had never expected such emotions from the man whom she hated and now that she had seen them from him and he was going to let her go without trouble, all she could do was throw her arms around his neck and hug her father, who, after the initial shock, put an arm around her, as well.

Diana felt a swelling of happiness and smiled at the scene. She felt a tear at the corner of her eye and wiped it away. Molly pulled back to reveal that a new kind of tear had streamed down her own cheeks: tears of happiness. She looked at her father to say in a shaky voice, "Thanks, Dad."

* * *

In Wonder Woman's home city of Themyscira, on Paradise Island, she and her newest friend sat in the daylight on a field of grass and bush, joined by a few animals and some of the denizens of the island, Diana's fellow Amazons.

They had arrived on the island several hours ago. Diana had introduced the demoness and explained what had happened to her, and though the other Amazons were alarmed at the knowledge that she had attacked their princess, since she vouched for her, they welcomed her with open arms.

Diana knew, more than anyone, the therapeutic nature of the island. It would serve as the perfect place for Molly's recovery. She looked at her friend who was looking intently at a small, colourful finch that stood on her finger. "How do you feel?" She asked her.

Molly looked at the Amazon with her eyes so as not to scare the bird away, she regarded her for a second before turning her attention back to the bird. She responded, "Happy. Guilty. Relieved. Ashamed... Lost."

The princess placed an arm around the demoness' shoulders and spoke with the utmost sincerity, "I promise, I will help you. You will feel better and you will find your new life to be wondrous."

Termoliah turned her head to face Diana and raised an eyebrow while having a wry smirk.

Wonder Woman was confused for a moment before she realized what it was and began laughing. Between laughs, she managed, "No pun intended."

Molly slowly began chuckling. Eventually, she shooed the bird away before bursting into roaring laughter. She fell over on her back and started rolling back and forth in the grass. Diana turned to watch her and continued laughing, herself. As she laughed, Molly looked up into the sky; it was overcast when they had arrived, but the clouds has gradually broken up to allow the beautiful blue sky and rays of sunshine to come through, promising to allow its full beauty and freedom to be revealed.

* * *

**Thank you very kindly for reading. I hope you found it worth the effort.  
It's kinda cool to finally have made this story.**


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